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Is Carlos Beltran up next for the Yankees?

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Now that they have agreed to a five-year contract with free agent catcher Brian McCann, the Yankees’ next move could come with outfielder Carlos Beltran, according to the New York Daily News.

The Yankees would love to make progress with Robinson Cano, Hiroki Kuroda and Masahiro Tanaka, their other main targets, but those discussions are held up for a variety of reasons. Thus, Beltran may be one of the next names to come off the board. The Yankees would prefer to give Beltran a two-year contract, while it has been reported that Beltran is looking for a three-year commitment.

Beltran turns 37 in April. The switch-hitter posted a split line of .296/.339/.491 in 145 games for the Cardinals this past season, slugging 24 homers and 84 RBIs. He has expressed interest in joining the Yankees before; through his agent at the time, Scott Boras, Beltran pitched his services to the Bombers at a discounted rate before agreeing with the Mets on a seven-year deal. Beltran is now represented by Dan Lozano.

General manager Brian Cashman has said that the Yankees liked Beltran during that ’04-’05 offseason, but they were already locked in with Bernie Williams as their center fielder at the time, and also felt bogged down by big-money pacts with players like Jason Giambi and Mike Mussina.

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What did Twins see in Hughes that the rest of us haven’t seen over the past few years to give him 8 mil a year. Going back to the one year Hughes pitched well? He’s stunk the joint out since then. You never knew what you were going to get with Hughes. One game he’d pitch well and the next game they blew him out. He hardly ever went past 5 innings. He gave up the home run ball consistently. I hope for his sake he does well in Minnesota but glad he’s gone from the Yankees’ roster. I hope the next one to sign somewhere else is Joba Chamberlain. They are two young pitchers with so much hype when they came on the scene initially but never really lived up to it. There are still several holes to fill, both pitching and position player. Cano and his agent need to get real. 7 years is the maximum the Yankees should give him and no more than 20 mil a year at the most, with perhaps some incentive laden bonuses. He may end up waiting too long and the Yankees will end up signing Infante. There aren’t many teams who have the money to pay one player 200 mil

This come from bunker, the same guy who is always wrong and said that Granderson signed a contract days ago. WRONG again.

If Yanks do make deal for pitcher, don’t look for a major deal. Big names on current roster like Tex and A-rod are unmovable due to age, injury issues, contract issues, etc., etc. most likely any deal will center around “top” Yankee prospects.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Hughes is looking for a 2 year deal and I think he just might get it….elsewhere.
Yankees are seem to be going all or nothing with Kuroda and Tanaka. Dangerous strategy, I have to believe a trade is coming.

yank: Ellsbury is younger than Beltran but he has his history of injury issues and missing games as well. I like Ellsbury and certainly wouldn’t have a problem with the Yankees signing him for a reasonable term and salary. Beltran had a good year in 2013 so going back to 2009 doesn’t mean much. Granted he is 37 which is getting into the injury prone age bracket for a position player. He could also cover the DH spot. If Beltran is signed the Yankees have to get rid of Wells. They never should have signed him beyond one year. Unfortunately our young prospects haven’t panned out or need more time so where do we get good young players from and at what price? And teams who have such players aren’t going to give them up very easily.

You make a solid point about this team not having many options in the OF. Beyond Ellsbury and Beltran, the choice are pretty thin. Don’t want Choo, he’s only a decent OF’er who will be overpriced, and the Yankee minor league system is a mess, so don’t look for many options coming from there. Just more proof that Crashman has turned this team into a mediocre franchise. He’s hamstrung this franchise with poor FA moves and trades and lacks an eye for talent. He’s no Brian Sabean or Billy Beane who can recognize talent and mold them into a cohesive team. Those two have been far more successful at taking the lesser known talent and doing just that, while Crashman keeps going after old talent who are near the end of their careers HOPING they can help this team. That hasn’t worked for years.

Granderson has not re-signed YET. He clarified there are ongoing discussions on his twitter account, The Yankees have no interest in Choo or Ellsbury. They may have if they were looking for no more than 2 years.

Thankfully the likes of Haren and Harang seem to be finding homes, we have no use for them. Tanaka and Kuroda are our non trade targets.

you have to remember that not all players want to come to the Yankees. It seem Beltran does. Sometimes I’m sure the management has to go to Plan B or C if A doesn’t work out so instead of being able to get a Choo-Choo or an Ellsbury they might have to go with Beltran. He’s still playing well at 37 and if a player keeps healthy and fit certainly 40 is not out of the question. Sometimes you have to compromise to get a quality player. You can’t have a team full of 25 year olds either. You need experience and guys that have proven themselves over the long term. A good mix and blend is important.

Unfortunately, 37 is not considered that young in baseball, plus he hasn’t been fit or healthy since ’09. The closest he has come to playing a full season was in 2012 when he played in 151 games, he hasn’t played in more than 145 games in any one season since 2009, so he does fit into the current lineup of old fragile players, just because a player wants to play for a team doesn’t make him a good fit. This team doesn’t need another old injury prone player like Beltran. With all the old players on the roster, the only thing this does have plenty of is experience, but not enough youth, Beltran doesn’t change that fact. Besides, he wants a three year contract and the Yanks don’t want to pay for more than . Ellsbury remains a red hot target for the Yanks, if they can’t get Beltran. So it’s either Beltran if he goes for a shorter contract or Ellsbury.

Yankees would be better off with Jacoby Ellsbury than Beltran, he’s in the prime of his career and would be a long term bridge until the Yankees develop another OF’er, if they can develop one in the near future. Despite what the resident troll says, Granderson hasn’t re-signed (he’s WRONG as usual), so the Yanks need someone who can help get the Yankee offense going if Granderson doesn’t come back

Carlos Beltran is thirty seven. Yanks need to develop and attract younger players with talent and ability. This is a challenge for them and one that they are incapable of dealing with.They prefer band aids with out looking for real solutions

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